I know i haven't belonged for very long, but i feel like very few people want to talk to me, which is a weird feeling...i've never been paranoid or had this exact feeling before. Please someone tell me if i have said or done anything offensive.if i did, it was not intentional. will someone just step up to the plate & tell me:am i being paranoid, or is there something going on? i joined this site for support & to support others;i don't expect instant anything, but i deserve a chance.And i'm feeling shut out by some of you...so what's the deal, or is there one? are all new people treated/ignored like this.? many of you havebeen really nice to me & i thank you so much cause it means a lot.i reallywant to continue to belong...but mutual support means talking, & without dialogue what's the point? i need some response to this.

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak.

Hi, I'am so sorry that you are feeling left out and on my part it is not it is not intentional.Some time's if your post does not have a heading people will pass it up like when you see one that say's no SUBJECT then people feel it is not important there for people will pass it up.So you may want to put a header when you write a post.But please do continue to come here.Thanks

Hi artpainter. I visit the CFS forum once in a while becaue I was diagnosed with it many years ago, but I spend most of my time in the lupus forum, since that is the health issue I am dealing with currently and it has completely changed my life and not in a good way.

I think another reason I don't come here a lot is because it is one of the slower forums without a lot of posting going on (maybe everyone is just too tired LOL). So, I wouldn't take it personally, I just think a lot of people don't post here. I agree with Curley that it helps to have a subject for your posts. Take care and I hope you continue to post at HealingWell, it's a great site for people to help them cope with a chronic illness.Diagnosis: Suspected Lupus 2004; Raynauds 2006; CFS 1991

Hey Art:)Sorry you feel this way...The CFS forum isn't very active i find.I myself have my own health issues that has been taking away from my HW time so I haven't been around as much as i'd like to be.I hope that this feeling goes away soon...I would like to see this forum pick up more people.Hope you feel betterMel :)Co-Moderator for Fibro

stop emoticons,artlady now finally got back here ;hippimom2, i will not forget your name ever again;thans again, so much, and thanks, mel;ot's already better. i prefer to ask people than to wonder, & some will like me, some won't...lifi am very glad to be here, to be a part of this wonderful place. but i worry cause i'm actually starting to enjoy these horrid little emoticons...durn, they're fun! ok, all the emoticons for now...what, too few?

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

Hey, from one Dylan lover to another .... I'm going to make it a point to try to stop by this forum a little more often. I co-moderate the lupus forum, but it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from the CFS forum.

You quoting Dylan remineded me of how much music has helped me cope with being sick - it is a great distraction listening to it and getting carried away by it.

hey, hippimom2, thanx reminded me...your remindiner;tc who do u listen to ? ilisten to almost everybody

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

I love a lot of the older folk artists like Dylan, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, etc. Newer stuff I like is also kind of folky like the Indigo Girls, Girlyman, older Jewel, but I also like some rock and Southern Rock - I like a lot of different stuff. I used to play acoustic guitar, but my hands hurt so bad now that I can't play a lot - I like to play folk, blues and bluegrass.Diagnosis: Suspected Lupus 2004; Raynauds 2006; CFS 1991

thanks again, hippimom...i am really enjoying the sharing;i'll bet you played o mean guitar;gotta get u fixed up;i used to plunk on a guitar;i have really small hands so used to cheat w/capo also my little fingers are a bit crooked...family trait...lousy guitarist; a cool guy taught me the very basic travis pick;i have no sense of rythm in any bone or muscle in my body...took me 2 wks to learn travis pick! lucky i'm stubborn...yet my hand -eye coordination is so good i was good at tennis :i hate gund, but went to firing reange once with a guy i was dating & i whupped his a..!he became a cop;never heard from him again,, tho...what is your disease, hipimom? don't think i ever knew

any way, thanks much.here's a not so secret secret;i love canadian folk singers...joni mitchell;& my favorite of all time gordon lightfoot...for me, he is the man;lots of people don't get him...he's who bob dylan listens to;i never knew that until recently.music saved my life more than once;joan baez beautiful voice still knocks me over...better quit

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

if i could read, hippimom, you told me already...sorry;surs do like talking music with you...i have som old scratchy records that are so cool;all sorts St. James infirmary, a little of the old, old, blues just the man & guitar...bless whoever invented bottleneck!this is to thank everyone who is helping me...you all are really so thanks very much from my heart..hugs to all

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

artpainter, I have several health issues going on. I think it all started with a bad case of mono I had when I was 18 (21 years ago in 1985). I don't feel like I was ever the same after I had mono. Then in 1991 I was constantly tired and felt rotten all the time and finally a doc said he thought I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - that was when there just started to be a lot out there in the medical community about CFS. Eventually I started feeling better and got into running, got married, went to grad school, had 2 kids, BUT every so often my body would crash and I would get really sick. about 2 1/2 years ago I got really really sick with muscle weakness, joint pain, and fatigue so bad that I would go to bed at 6pm and still have to take naps during the day if it wasn't a day that I worked. My family doc ran a bunch of tests and some blood tests indicated possible lupus, so i went to a rheumatologist and now I am being treated for lupus. It really stinks because I have been really sick the past several years and have had to give up most things I enjoy. Thankfully my husband has been really supportive, but I know it has to be hard on him and my family has been pretty good. I know it's hard for my kids (4 & 8) because I can't go outside and play much with them anymore.

What about you? Have doctors determined that you have CFS or are you waiting in diagosis limbo?

I love talking about music and I love Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. I'm always looking for some good new music to listen to. As for my guitar playing, I'm not great but I can learn things pretty easily. My older brother is the one who has natural talent with the guitar and he has taught me a lot. I also order some books with guitar tabliture and can learn pretty easily from that. When I was younger, I had always wanted for my brother and I to play guitar and sing together in some local bars in Colorado (We both lived there for a little while). Both of us have okay singing voices by ourselves, but for some reason our voices blend really well when we sing together.

hi, hi hippimom;thanks for super-post;noway too long, not long enough.while i'm thinking about it, i thought they had a test for lupus that is accurate;unlike cfs is a syndrome of exclusion, but they have some new stuff ,i guess, that they look at.i wantto talk a lot more with you later;i'm having a bad day so far ;i may feel better tonight...i often do, don't have a clue why.it's like some of the muscle weakness just lifts & it can last for 2min. to 3-4 hrs. strange.i hate the days when i'm too weak to shower...stuff like that;a shower day is a good day, even if it makes me too tired, meaning weak, to do much else.the longest it ever had me in bed was about 2 months in 89...that was horrible.too weak to get out of bed;i got a diagnosis thanks to an allergist i went to;i'd sneeze before igot sick, so i figured allergies;wrong...i'm allergic to compazine..facial paralysis, but no other allergies. cfs mimics allergies sometimes, then go away for weeks with no diet change...my allergist sent me up t a hospital in Denver..nat'l jewish, tho i'm not jewish..lucky you don't have to be;tests all day just about, ruled out lupus, ms, etc...lots of stuff;diagnosis cfs.that was in 90. more later, ok? tc & biiiiigghugs.

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

Unfortunately there is no definitive test for lupus although certain tests can indicate lupus. It is very difficult to diagnose and a lot of other things have to be excluded. Lots of docs are leery of diagnosinglupus and it usually takes years of frustration and several docs before people get a diagnosis.

I'm sorry you are having a rough day. I hate those days where you feel like you are physically unable to take a shower or do the small things that most healthy people take for granted.

I hope you get some good healing sleep and that tomorrow will be better. I'm not doing well either. I find that changes in the weather can send me into a flare and we have had some dramatic changes in the weather lately. It's time for me to hopefully get some sleep.

hi, hippimom, thanks...i didn't know that about lupus...god that sounds as hard to diagnose as cfs.i'm sorry;that has to be rough for you;you get some rest,too & we'll talk again.thinking of you...tc ...double hugs sleep well. i really like talking to you, lady...we gotta talk more music, etc.hope to see ya tomorrow, feel better.

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.

Hey, artpainter, how are you feeling today? I'm still feeling pretty rotten and am in a lot of pain. I might try to get in to see my doc tomorrow if I'm not feeling better.

I was wondering what kind of art you do. I am an admirerer of art and always wished I was good at it, but art is definitely not one of my talents. The only thing I can do well is draw horses. I like art enugh that I minored in art history in college. My hubby on the other hand, is quite talented at any type of drawing and painting. He minored in art in college, but is so busy these days with his job that the extent of his art is drawing with our kids.

hi, hippimom. thanks for post..really good to hear from u;feel awful today; just really super-down...cfs causes these changes in brain chem...i take paxil, but not much help when this strikes, related to hormones...pmdd, too,,just have to get thru it;also affecting eyes today, red sore& herpes sores on eyelids feels like something in eyes;hurts ...don't mean to be downer, just feel horrible;you helped with posting, hip, thanks! mostly, i do acrylic abstracts now;i used to do portraits, scenery, other stiff;i love shapes & color & the freedom of abstract...work, but it's fun too.funny thing, hip, i can't draw animals! you would laugh your head off if you could see a horse i drew! i could do a decent one if i had 3 hrs. and a ton of erasers...true;don't know why that's hard for me...i love animals.i can draw..but animals are so hard for me..funny,huh..your husband sounds like a natural.i am w/design...shapes, colors, people...i like watercolors, too. you doin ok ? i'm gonna lie down again;hard day to sit up & walking across the room just about kills me...like a bad flu..it will pass;just don't know when...tonite, next wk? don't know...but many thanks, lady hip for talking to me ...it helps. tc & big hugs i'll hang in there. later,hippimom2;yuo're sweet!

i believe we are all connected;everything is connected on an atomic and subatomic level, so how can we be separate;how can one thing not affect another? another reason to be kind to each other...and to think before we speak. and to try to love one another or at least give up hatred for individuals. and i don't mean we should turn into Pollyanna .no way...we musk feel and acknowledge all our feelings;it's how we handle them. that is the hardest part for me, i:ve discovered. i don't like injustice & i don't stay quiet about it. sometimes i'm disliked for that. i can live with it...lots of practice.I was marching in the streets before a lot of you were born, so i think that tells you a lot. i'm not brave. but i care.and i try to help. so do things like YOU do them;with the docs help

bob dylan said, "I aint gonna work on maggies farm no more you all try to do the same;hold on to all the dignity you can& do as many things your own way as you can;of course swe have to deal with docs & so on, but we need to keep ourselves.